CONVULSIONS

_What should be done for a child in convulsions before a doctor
arrives?_

Keep the child perfectly quiet with ice at the head, put the feet in a
mustard bath, and roll the entire body in large towels which have been
dipped in mustard water (two heaping tablespoonfuls of mustard to one
quart of tepid water), and have plenty of hot water and a bath tub at
hand, so that the doctor can give a hot bath if he thinks it
advisable.

_When is a hot bath useful?_

If the convulsions have continued until the pulse is weak, the face
very pale, the nails and lips blue, and the feet and hands cold, the
hot bath will be useful by bringing blood to the surface and relieving
the heart, lungs, and brain.

_How should the bath be given?_

The temperature should not be over 106° F.; this should always be
tested by a thermometer if one can be obtained. Without this
precaution, in the excitement of the moment, infants have frequently
been put into baths so hot that serious and even fatal burns have been
produced. If no thermometer is available the nurse may plunge her arm
to the elbow into the water. It should feel warm, but not so hot as to
be at all uncomfortable. One half a teacupful of powdered mustard
added to the bath often adds to its efficacy.